Smartours Magical Ireland
 

Has anyone been with Smartours to Ireland? I would appreciate your opinion.

We, too, are looking into escorted tours vs self-guided tours of Ireland. Did you find out any more about Smarttours? I've heard mixed reviews, some good and others not so good.

you likely won't get a response from the OP. The screen name has been around for 4 years but this is her one and only ever post on Fodors.

Maybe someone else will see your question.

Hi Janisj

Thanks for your info. We are trying to set up an itinerary for Ireland and not sure how to do it. I will try posting on the message boards.

Consider Fly Drive, do not consider tours that pre book you into their unsold coach tour rooms do not consider accommodation vouchers. Be careful what the drive part of the package includes..

Take a look through the trip reports on this and other forums, take a look at itinerary questions which have been posted.

Ask a question yourself giving possible dates, Must see would like to see include do as part of see.

Remember Ireland is an island with 2 countries which both have a lot to offer but most visitors are very narrow sighted and concentrate on heavily tourist areas.. try and think outside the box a little.

Four of us are taking the Magical Ireland Tour with Smartours. Have never used them and have read the reviews. They are mixed just like the reviews for other company reviews. We take them with a grain of salt. Had thought about driving but with "the gathering" of four and our very busy lives we decided on the tour. We are all very experienced travelers so not much fluffs our feathers. We like the fact that all of our lunches are on our own and half the dinners so we do have some freedom. There are some free afternoons too. Looked at the hotels and that seems to be their strong point according to the reviews. We hit the streets and only need a place to crash. All toilets are inside. :) It might be noted that we are very social people so being with a group is not a negative. Probably will cover a lot in a little time but if we like Ireland, then we will return on our own. It doesn't have to be a one shot deal for us. Sooo the bottom line is that when we return, I'll try to post something to give others a heads up on the tour. Happy Travels!:)

A few years ago my husband and I landed in Belfast, rented a car, drove north and east along the Giant's Causeway, then west to Sligo, south to Galway and then over to Dublin. We had 7 days, and while regret not having time to get to the southern part or Ireland, absolutely loved this trip. We did have B&B vouchers, which I would not get again, as it was difficult to find the homes in the voucher book - would just "wing it" next time. Driving, once used to the left hand thing, was easy enough. The beaches in Sligo county reminded us very much of the Carribbean with their beautiful blue green colour. Loved, loved Ireland and the Irish! We tend to avoid highly touristy areas so this self guided tour was perfect!
Hope your trip is as wonderful!

Been trying to plan a kind of last minute trip ourselves for end May or early June. DH has decided he much prefers trips where he doesn't drive and I don't navigate. : ) that means our original plan has gone kaput. We have looked at getting drivers, but that may be outside the budget as we like to stay in at least one really nice place and there are four of us to pay for. We had contacted Glengarriff's Gene O' Sullivan for a quote ,but he was already booked the entire month of June. We considered tours ,but are leary of the snap a pic pace and not having enough freedom. Despite that we have emailed Vagabond Tours with a few questions and not heard back. I think we just need more lead time, so maybe next year.

Southeastern - Please, post your feedback post trip. It may help us out in the future.

Vagabond/Driftwood are a well respected small group tour operator.. I recommend Rabbies for Scotland and they now have an Irish option might be worth a thought.. That said I have never taken a tour but with experience of working in Hotels used by Tours I probably never will.

Tony2phones- You mentioned renting a taxi for half day on my very indecisive other post. How is it to get either a driver for a day say to get from Dublin to Ballynahinch Castle via Athlone and / or Newgrange or to hire taxis for the day / half day in early to mid June? We, of course, would also make use of tours from the hotels and public transit, but may need a car on occasion. My concern is getting there and then not being able to get to or from somewhere.

Hubby has told me to give it up for this year and book Vagabond tours or a driver for next year, but as you can probably tell I am stubborn as a mule once I get my teeth in something. Must be all that Danish, Dutch and Irish running in my blood. : )

Hiring a cab would be a local option rather than driving across country as you would go one way but be effectively charged for the return as well.

There are good tours for Newgrange from Dublin Mary Gibbons being well regarded http://newgrangetours.com/

I wouldn't do Ballynahinch without a car, not much else directly accessible, Abbeyglen is walking distance from Clifden town and would be the best option.. You could hire a cab for half day in town for local sights like Kylemore and the Doonlough valley etc. or to get to Cleggan and back for the horse riding (although City Link bus service covers that linking the Inishboffin ferry by Clegan).

Maccogirl- my sister in law has used Smart tours several times and she is very particular. She is budget conscious, wants things to be well organized, expects to be treated as an honored guest and would never be repeat business for a company that didn't have her same upbeat personality. She has used then for Australia, India and I believe Kuala Lumpur. I don't know if this helps ,but I hope so.

Hi All,
Thanks so much for all of your thoughtful advice! Looking into Vagabond Tours, because my hubby doesn't like the stress of driving, flat tires, getting lost, etc.

Smarttours combines northern and Southern Ireland and I wonder if it's too much territory in too little time.

Maybe we're trying to do this too quickly? Perhaps better to try for next year along with Cjarr.

Southeastern, please let me know if you liked the Magical Ireland, okay? I'll look for your post and be checking out other options. We may have to do a split between tour and self-drive to see it all.

Ha! We are going this year. I had a brief pity party when I thought we wouldn't make it , but like I said when I get my teeth in something.....

When I looked at Vagabond for this summer they were fully booked and I think that is actually good because we have trouble keeping to other people's schedules. :) We found two separate companies to do the driving, one for the west and one for the the south. With the help of all these fine and knowledgable fodorites, we planned a good portion ourselves.

If I wanted a tour if Ireland I'd consider this one: http://www.ricksteves.com/tours/engl...otland/ireland

We took a small group tour of Ireland with Odysseys Unlimited last year and really enjoyed it. They still have available dates for this summer so you might check with them.

Does anyone know the age range of SmarTour groups?
I'm 70 and wouldn't be able to keep up with 20-40 yr olds, nor would they want me to "slow" them down.

Very few tours have a 20-40 demographic and SmarTours is no different.

You'll be fine (If you look at the photos in their on-line brochures most every one is of folks your age or older)

We just returned from a Smartours trip to Hungary, Austria, and Czech Republic for whom it still concerns on here. I thought I would chime in. We had 44 people and the trip was complete delight. We are a young "60's" and most all were 50's-70's age group. Our guide was fantastic and the price was right. Enough free time, and then tours were included then there were Optional tours. I know Fodors like to plan etc. but this was the right decision for my and my husband. I like the bags all taken care of, tell me where to go, and point in the right direction.

One must remember once you are in these particular countries many people do not speak English so the language barrier is present. I liked the tour and would not hesitate to use them again. There were many repeated travelers on our tour who had done Smartours. They are based out of New York.

I would book with either Road Scholar or Odysseys. Both are
highly rated.